Saved by Shadows
by anakinlove
Summary: Anakin is kidnapped by a deadly bounty hunter and Obi-wan must track him down. but, in order to do this, he must employ the help of a second bounty hunter, the lethal and misterious Shadow Slayer and her shape shifting protege Riptide
1. Chapter 1 Spirited Away

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kinobi were at their flat in down town Corasaunt on the deck. Anakin was playing with yoyo, thoroughly bored. He was lying on his stomach on a reclining chair.

"Obi-wan", he said, "I wana do something."

"Well, too bad, I'm busy", said Obi-wan. He was working on some statistics for the clone wars and was in no mood for Anakin's sulkiness. "Nobody's keeping you here Anakin."

"You are", Anakin grumbled. "I wana go somewhere."

"Anakin, don't you think you're a little old to complain?" Anakin rolled over on his back and stared up at the sky.

"You're such an old woman Obi-wan", Anakin said. Obi-wan rolled his eyes. When Anakin had been ten, he had hoped he would grow out of complaining. Now he was twenty-seven and Obi-wan was losing hope.

"Fine", he said, "Where do you want to go?"

"Yes", said Anakin. "Lets go to that pub down by that hotel, you know, Sparkies."

"Ohh Anakin, I don't like that place", said Obi-wan.

"Please", Anakin said, "Please, please, please."

"How about you go and I stay here."

"I don't want to go alone, are you mad? I'd look stupid."

"Too late for that", Obi-wan mumbled and then to Anakin said, "Then go make some friends."

"You're my friend master", Anakin said, giving his master his most winning smile. Obi-wan quickly melted beneath it.

"All right", he said, "But just for a few hours."

"Yea", said Anikan, quickly getting up. "Did I ever tell you how good a friend you are?"

Obi-wan raised his eyebrows at him and said, "Yea, sure. Lets hurry up and get this over with."

"Yes", said Anakin, and he rushed out the door.

OOOOOO

Anakin Skywalker was having an amazing time. He had already gotten thoroughly drunk, and was very happy about it. After his money had run out, he decided to just stagger around and run into people he didn't know.

The pub lights practially blinded Obi-wan Kinobi, who hadn't gotten drunk, and was watching Anakin, annoyed that things hadn't gone his way that night. He knew he should be angry with Anakin, but he would wait to yell until his protege was sober, for fear that he might go out and shoot himself. Finally, he looked at the clock and decided it was time for Anakin to go home. He needed to buy some Advil for the headache he was going to have tonight, keeping Anakin from drinking anymore and the headache Anakin was sure to have tomorrow.

Obi-wan got up and took Anakin's arm.

"Come on Anakin", he said, "its time to go home." Anakin's head lolled to one side and he had a stupid grin on his face.

"Master", he hiccupped, "You're my best friend." Obi-wan patted his head and then dragged him out.

As Obi-wan was dragging a resistant Anakin back to their speeder, he heard a sound behind him. It was like what you would imagine hearing if someone was following you. At first, Obi-wan thought it was just nothing, just some drunk local, but then he heard it again. He let go of Anakin for a moment and turned around. There was something moving in an alleyway.

He started to walk towards it when he heard a scream behind him. Obi-wan spun around and saw Anakin being forcibly dragged away by a strange creature. He was fighting with everything in him, but he seemed to have been drained of strength.

"Anakin", Obi-wan yelled. He ran towards him, but the beast threw Anakin aside and jumped at Obi-wan. It was a strange kind of alien Obi-wan had never seen. It had a head like a bull with a body like a bear, covered all in thick brown fur with long sharp claws and teeth that glittered like a case of daggers.

The beast smacked Obi-wan across the face, leaving bloody gashes. Obi-wan dropped to the ground beneathe the creatures colossal weight and it knocked him unconscious before dragging a screaming and now sober Anakin away.


	2. Chapter 2 Chasing Shadows

Obi-wan woke up a few hours later and searched around frantically. He ran through the city, calling Anakin's name. Everyone must have thought he was mad but he didn't care. After searching in vain for a few hours he asked around, but no one had seen anything and many weren't in a hurry to talk to a disheveled and frantic Jedi.

Finally he trekked back to the temple, frustrated and deeply perturbed. Someone must have been watching them, waiting to prey on Anakin when he was at his weakest. When he got to the temple, he went straight to Master Windo to inform him of the troubling event that had befallen them.

OOOOOO

"This is terrible", Mace said, pacing back and forth through his room. "Anakin was one of our most valuable generals in the war. Without him, our forces are greatly depleted. We must put out every available asset into finding Skywalker."

"Thank you", said Obi-wan.

OOOOOOO

For three days Obi-wan oversaw useless investigations and felt both frustrated and frightened. Surely whomever kidnapped Anakin was going to kill him and everyday they spent wasted was one more day Anakin might die. Obi-wan didn't know how empty his life felt without Anakin.

Obi-wan had scarcely spent a day without the boy since taking him on as his apprentice. Now, everything felt empty. Every lead was a dead end and every hope was destroyed before it even became strong. Obi-wan let someone else do his job by the end of the first week without Anakin.

OOOOOO

Lying in his flat one evening, Obi-wan shifted through the force, trying to find some indication that Anakin wasn't dead. He found nothing, but what did that mean. In depth analysis of the living force had always eluded him. Then, he shot up like a piston. An idea had came to him. He grabbed his things and ran out the door. Obi-wan Kinobi was going to see an old friend.

OOOOO

"I don't know Obi-wan, let me think about it."

"Come on Dex, I know you can figure it out, you know everything about the underworld."

"You're sure he's a bounty hunter", Dex asked.

"Positive", said Obi-wan, "I mean, I think. Who else would be able to take out a Jedi?"

"I suppose", said Dex. "Here, I have an idea. You've heard of a bounty hunter called Shadow Slayer."

"Yea", said Obi-wan, "Who hasn't? The Republic guards are still looking for her after that recent assassination that senator."

"Yea, she knows every other bounty hunter there is and where they all are. I bet she would know where you're missing man is."

"But how do I find her Dex?" Obi-wan asked frustrated.

"Well", said Dex, looking away guiltily, "I know where she is."

"You do", asked Obi-wan hopefully, "Where is she?"

"I could tell you, but you have to promise me not to arrest her. If you do, she'll find out who it was that told you and kill me. She's good, the best there is. That's why she keeps track of the competition, so she can get rid of anyone who's getting too good."

"Alright", said Obi-wan, "I'll take three clones along with me and tell no one that I'm going."

"Fine", said Dex, "Here's the address. Remember you're promise and be forewarned; she doesn't take kindly to visitors without cash." Obi-wan nodded and headed out.


	3. Chapter 3 The Hunter

Obi-wan crept down the alleyway with his hood up and three clones trailing behind him. Rex, Cody, and Gree were good, too good to bungle up this mission, which Obi-wan desperately needed to go smoothly. The door to the building they were going in was ornate and carved with various pictures of large cat-like animals.

"Perfect", Obi-wan thought to himself, "Exactly as Dex said it would be." He pushed on the door and it opened with a creak. The force rippled around him with life forms. Obi-wan gulped and moved quickly through. The doors slammed shut behind them. It was pitch black inside the building and the clones all turned on their headlamps. Obi-wan, however, didn't turn on his lightsaber. Dex had told him specifically, no show of weapons.

Obi-wan's whole being screamed with anticipation. There were large forms bellowing around them like a tide. Obi-wan couldn't see them in the darkness and no matter how hard he strained his ears, he couldn't hear them, but he could feel them. It was frightening.

Suddenly, he felt a ripple in the force and stepped back before large form hit him. He fell to the ground, a deafening roar filling his ears. He heard the clones armor clatter loudly on the concrete and their grunts of pain as the wind was knocked out of them.

If Obi-wan had not taken that step back, the beast's long claws he now felt pressing on his arm might have been in his face. The clones, at least, had helmets and Obi-wan hoped they hadn't been too badly hurt.

The thing on top of him seemed to be a large leopard. It was very heavy and its long fangs were an inch from Obi-wan's face. He could smell its hot breath on his face, a musky animal smell laced with blood and death. Then, Obi-wan heard a voice.

"Well Riptide, it looks as if we've caught some dinner. I know how much you like human meat." Obi-wan heard a large purring sound and a snap of fingers. Then, room was illuminated.

It was painted all black with silver carvings of cats all over, a lot like the one Obi-wan could now see was on top of him. There was nothing in the place at first glance but then Obi-wan noticed large black couch in the back of the room.

A woman with a large black hood over her face was lounging comfortably on her side. Obi-wan could not see her face, but he knew it was a woman by her voice. Her snow-white legs stretched out behind her and disappeared beneath a black cloak. She was wearing a black, strapless leotard with a chain of silver stars around her waist. Lying beside her with one great paw draped over her waist and another over her collarbone was the largest leopard Obi-wan had ever seen.

Its great paw was easily as big as Obi-wan's face and its great jaws could have torn him to shreds. The girl, Obi-wan assumed to be Shadow Slayer, scratched him under the chin and he gave another earth shaking purr.

"Now Jedi, before I have my boys rip you and your friends in two pieces, do you have anything to say."

"I'm not here to arrest you", said Obi-wan.

Shadow Slayer laughed and said, "Then why are you here, certainly not for tourism."

"I'm here with a job for you", Obi-wan managed to gasp out despite the weight on his chest.

"I'm in between gigs and on vacation right now", Shadow Slayer said, "It had better be something easy."

"I just need to talk to you", Obi-wan said. Shadow Slayer cocked her head.

"Let 'em up boys", she said after a moment of indecision, "You can eat later." The leopards got off slowly as if they sorely wished they could eat now and stalked away. The girl got up and threw back her hood. Obi-wan was surprised. Not only was she startlingly beautiful, but young. She looked no older then sixteen.

"Expecting someone older then?" she asked.

"Yes", said Obi-wan, "I assumed the master mind behind the murder of Senator Taro would be." The girl gave a growl.

"I hate senators, useless money stealers are all they are." She tossed her hair out of her hood and walked to his side. "Anyway, what is it you want from me?" As Obi-wan told her what he needed, he couldn't take his eyes off her soft, innocent looking face. Bounty hunters were normally the most disgusting, ugly creatures, the dregs of society. This girl looked of high breeding at the very least.

She had long, raven black hair and large, sparkling dark purple eyes. The enormous leopard Riptide licked a paw, but didn't take his amber eyes off the men. He seemed off edge as if nervous for her.

The most startling thing about her, however, was the pair of black wolf-looking ears coming from the top of her head and the long black tail that curved elegantly beside her ankles. "A Necorian, even worse", Obi-wan thought to himself. Necorians, were known in the galaxy, as one of those species pushed on the fringe of society. They were dangerous, deadly and unpredictable. It only seemed fitting to Obi-wan that the bounty hunter with the worst reputation out there had to be an outer rim monster.

"Hmm", the girl said after he was done. "Do you have a picture of this mysterious bounty hunter?"

"No", said Obi-wan.

"Well, can you tell me what he looks like?"

"He had brown hair all over his body, the head of an ox and the body of a bear."

"Now we're getting somewhere", the girl said. "The particular bounty hunter you are looking for is named Tookie Galkata. He is the last of a dying race of freak shows. I'm glad to see them leave. Anyone else like Tookie deserves to die."

"You know him', Obi-wan asked.

"Him and me used to be friends", Shadow slayer said mildly, turning around to face the wall and folding her arms around herself. "Do you remember Tookie, Riptide?" she asked the leopard. Riptide gave a large growl. "I thought you did", she said thoughtfully.

"Do you know where he is?" Obi-wan asked.

"No", said Shadow Slayer, "and I don't want to. If he's busy with your friend then he's not busy looking for me." Shadow Slayer walked up to Obi-wan and touched his face.

"He didn't like you very much did he?"

"No", said Obi-wan, "but anyway, how do we find this Tookie?"

"Beats me", Shadow Slayer said. "Find him yourself. But first, pay me two hundred keshels for all this info I gave you." Obi-wan sighed and opened up his bag. Shadow Slayer looked down at all the keshels in the bag with her eyebrows raised.

"Here", she said, "I'll make you a deal. How much have you got in that bag?"

"Four hundred."

"All right, for everything you've got in that bag, I'll find this bounty hunter for you, I mean I'll find where he is; I'll leave the apprehending to you. If anyone can find who he's working for, I can. Pay me after I find out what you need to know."

"Thank you", said Obi-wan.

"Here", she said, giving him a silver key, "come back in three days and if I don't have what you need, you can go somewhere else. Come in through the back door this time and the leopards won't try to eat you"

"Ok", Obi-wan said, and he and the clones melted out the door and into the pouring rain.


End file.
